More than 50 armed policemen on Saturday morning cordoned off part of the Murtala Muhammed Highway where the Cross River state secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party is located while men suspected to be All Progressives Congress supporters pulled down PDP flags and painted the secretariat in APC colours.
This generated tension in the ancient city as reports say some angry PDP supporters threatened a show down but was prevailed upon by leaders of the party who preferred other means to settle the imbroglio.
In a statement signed by the Chairman, Caretaker Committee of the PDP in the state, Mr Efiok Cobham, the party said its tenancy was still subsisting and wondered why Governor Ben Ayade would encourage “such illegality”.
The statement, which was made available to Blueprint read in part: “This morning, armed policemen cordoned off the Cross River State PDP secretariat at 42 Murtala Mohamed Highway, Calabar, and created cover for thugs from the Governor Ben Ayade faction of the APC to invade the PDP state secretariat with the intention of converting the property to the state secretariat of the APC.
But, the Cross River State Government has explained in a statement by Christian Ita, Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to Governor Ayade, that the secretariat formerly occupied by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the State was a rented property that was renewed recently by the State Governor.
Ita described PDP’s claim as “nothing but tissue of lies and a cocktail of fraudulent” act, stressing that the statement was meant to mislead the public and “whip up undeserved public sympathy.”
The statement reads in part, “The puerile statement was an infantile attempt to mislead the public and whip up undeserved public sympathy. But Cobham and his gang failed woefully.
“First, the said property is a rented property that is not owned by the PDP.
“It will interest the public to know that the rent for the said property was only renewed three months ago by the same PDP that has now totally collapsed into the APC.
“The same former officials of the PDP who occupied the property when it was the secretariat of the PDP are the persons still occupying it having switched allegiance and moved to the APC with the governor.
“So, the claim by Cobham of forceful entry is fraudulent and criminal and should be ignored.
“His claim that the PDP still has tenancy right over the property is pathetic. Pathetic because Cobham failed to realise that the same person who renewed the rent just three months ago has moved to the APC.
“If Barrister Cobham is not hiding behind a finger by claiming that the rent was paid by his party, let him name any member of the PDP as constituted today that either contributed or singlehandedly paid the rent.
“Rather than fight over what does not belong to it, we will advise the shell-shocked and lame-duck PDP to look elsewhere to situate their secretariat”.
